Quick Mill Monza - Jammed pistons

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Den415
Posts: 15
Joined: 1 year ago

#1: Post by Den415 »

Hello, everyone!

I'm brand new to this site and have already learned a TON about espresso, water, beans, equipment and more. What an awesome resource for a newbie like myself! An hour or so here and I've already figured out that I know absolutely nothing about espresso. :wink:

I'm wondering if anyone has any technical expertise that they might be willing to share, regarding my most recent 'bargain find'. Here's the situation...

I recently purchased a used Quick Mill Monza that I was told was "working perfectly" and then suddenly was unable to power on. Since I'm a sucker for a bargain and figured a sudden power issue could be a simple fix, I snagged it. I opened it up and got the power working again (just a disconnected wire), but now see that there's a much larger problem. In addition to the machine being pretty darn filthy, I'm getting the Group Error message on the display and I see now that the pistons seem to be stuck inside the brew chamber. I can't figure out how to get them out and am a little worried about taking the machine apart myself, for fear of causing even more damage.

Does anyone happen to have any experience with this situation?
I know this is not necessarily the site for superautomatic machines, but man there seems to be a wealth of knowledge and know-how on here. So, taking a shot. (pun intended)

Thanks in advance for any advice you might be able to offer up!

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mrgnomer
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Joined: 18 years ago

#2: Post by mrgnomer »

Kirk
LMWDP #116
professionals do it for the pay, amateurs do it for the love

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Den415 (original poster)
Posts: 15
Joined: 1 year ago

#3: Post by Den415 (original poster) »

Thanks for the link, Kirk! Good resource for sure. I appreciate it.

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mrgnomer
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#4: Post by mrgnomer »

If what jammed the piston was hard water deposits or coffee oil buildup a soaking and scrubbing with vinegar or descaler might help release things.
Kirk
LMWDP #116
professionals do it for the pay, amateurs do it for the love

GreenEggsAndSam
Posts: 69
Joined: 5 years ago

#5: Post by GreenEggsAndSam »

Here's a link to the most up-to-date manual for the machine: https://shopify-er.s3.amazonaws.com/res ... manual.pdf

While the motor will only spin the pistons in one direction, you can move the piston in reverse to unjam it by spinning the motor backwards by hand. To do that, you'll need to remove the top and rear panels of the machine. Once off, page 16 of the manual will show the process for doing that.

Once the piston is moving freely again, I recommend cleaning and re-lubricating the entire assembly. I recommend DOW111 as a lubricant, and this is a good video which shows how to clean and set the piston assembly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YSfOiYKXkc

Den415 (original poster)
Posts: 15
Joined: 1 year ago

#6: Post by Den415 (original poster) »

mrgnomer wrote:If what jammed the piston was hard water deposits or coffee oil buildup a soaking and scrubbing with vinegar or descaler might help release things.
That sucker is pretty darn dirty. This would make sense. Thank you!

Den415 (original poster)
Posts: 15
Joined: 1 year ago

#7: Post by Den415 (original poster) »

GreenEggsAndSam wrote:Here's a link to the most up-to-date manual for the machine: https://shopify-er.s3.amazonaws.com/res ... manual.pdf

While the motor will only spin the pistons in one direction, you can move the piston in reverse to unjam it by spinning the motor backwards by hand. To do that, you'll need to remove the top and rear panels of the machine. Once off, page 16 of the manual will show the process for doing that.

Once the piston is moving freely again, I recommend cleaning and re-lubricating the entire assembly. I recommend DOW111 as a lubricant, and this is a good video which shows how to clean and set the piston assembly: video
Wow! I think that's exactly what I needed! Thanks so much, Sam. Going to try all of this, including the cleaning and lubricating, and will report back on the results.

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GreenEggsAndSam
Posts: 69
Joined: 5 years ago

#8: Post by GreenEggsAndSam »

Wow! I think that's exactly what I needed! Thanks so much, Sam. Going to try all of this, including the cleaning and lubricating, and will report back on the results.
No problem! Hopefully that's all you need! If you run the machine without the two pistons installed and it still gets stuck, that's bad news. Otherwise it's likely easily fixed.

Den415 (original poster)
Posts: 15
Joined: 1 year ago

#9: Post by Den415 (original poster) »

Fingers crossed!

Assuming that if it doesn't run without the pistons installed, I'm looking at replacing a motor. Ugh.

JRising
Team HB
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Joined: 5 years ago

#10: Post by JRising »

For what it's worth, the piston o-rings are QuickMill Part # OR4137. I would start with: clean the heck out of the brew unit, lubricate the new o-rings and replace the old ones.

https://www.chriscoffee.com/search?type ... t&q=OR4137

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